This article, originally written for Orange, looks at how businesses can save money and work smarter by using the latest Internet services and tools:
Going high-tech to beat the recession
It’s no secret that the UK economy isn’t in the best of shape – petrol prices are rocketing, house prices are tumbling, inflation is at a 16-year high. A debt-laden Britain is drifting slowly towards a recession and businesses are starting to pass around the life jackets.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. “[A recession] is when big and medium-sized companies retrench,” media tycoon Felix Dennis once told The Economist. This gives “small firms and entrepreneurs a chance.”
The Internet age
Doing business in 2008 is increasingly about making the most of the Internet. A website can act as your global shop front; clever Google advertising can raise your profile; an email newsletter can enhance your marketing efforts. Better still, online applications such as Skype, Google Docs and LinkedIn offer ways to streamline your workflow and trim costs. Even Facebook can be used to your advantage.
Beyond basic website browsing and email, there are a number of web applications that can help you work faster and smarter. For example, installing VoIP software such as Skype or Vonage can slash the cost of traditional phone calls.
VoIP calling is surprisingly flexible and calls can be routed to landlines (at reduced rates) not just other VoIP numbers. A service like Skype is also ideal for business travellers, enabling them to call internationally (for free) using any hotel’s broadband connection.
Skype can also be used as an Instant Messaging client, for conference calls, and for face-to-face video calling if you invest in a suitable web cam. It’s not the best solution for group video conferencing, however. Free software such as Oovoo supports six-way video chat for free, negating the need for a standalone video conferencing system. WebEx is a more advanced service, combining group web conferencing (via chat and video) with the ability to share and present content stored on your computer.
The virtual office
If the future of business demands a connected (and interconnected) workforce, then this workforce can easily work from home rather than in an office.
Chat tools such as Microsoft’s Live Messenger can connect people instantly, for free, no matter where they are. AOL’s AIM Pro is an ideal business choice as its chat traffic is automatically encrypted.
This is increasingly the age of the ‘virtual office’ – one that’s always open and always accessible via any broadband connection. Microsoft might not like it, but traditional desktop applications like Outlook, Word and Excel are being challenged by likes of Gmail and Google Docs.
The advantage? These apps are free. Your data and documents is also stored online, so they can be accessed via any connected device – a PC, laptop, PDA, even an Internet-connected mobile phone. This sort of remote data hosting has been dubbed ‘cloud computing’.
The Google Apps Team Edition software is ideal for businesses who want to embrace this cloud computing concept. It aggregates Google’s key online office applications, enabling remote-workers to share a common Google Calendar and to securely share documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Google Docs supports Microsoft’s Word, Excel and PowerPoint file formats as standard.
Zoho is another high-profile suite that includes an online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation tool. It differentiates itself from Google’s offering by offering an array of extras, including: an online wiki, project management, CRM and invoicing solutions.
Replacing the desktop
There’s no end to the tasks that you can outsource to Internet applications. Highrise, for example, isn’t just an online address book and contact manager. It’s a shared task-list, personal assistant and CRM widget. The team behind the software (37signals) also designed Basecamp, a must-have collaborative tool to help teams virtually track and manage ongoing projects.
Little by little, desktop applications are being replaced. Adobe’s new PhotoShop Express brings rudimentary photo editing and sharing to an online app; while automated online backup services like Carbonite can securely archive your important data.
Need an extra pair of hands? Log onto People4Business.com and hire yourself a remote-working office assistant who can handle basic administration duties, data-input, transcription and other secretarial projects. If you know where to look, you can find copywriters, designers, SEO consultants and PR execs all willing to work by the hour.
While the concept of cloud computing is still in its infancy, it’s not just small and medium-sized businesses that can benefit. The Telegraph Media Group (TMG) recently switched its 1,400 journalists from Microsoft Office to Google Docs. “It’s quickly becoming clear to many enterprises,” says TMG’s chief information officer Paul Cheesbrough, “that cloud computing offers them a cost-efficient and low-maintenance way of catering to the needs of the modern day employee.”
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